5 Tips For Teaching A Successful Aerobics Class

Aerobic instructors are skilled health educators. They also need to motivate and inspire while entertaining their clients. It takes expertise and a specific skill set to flow from one movement to the next while keeping the energy as high as possible in a fitness room. Effective classes require planning and some strategy. Some instructors teach multiple classes a day and have to expend incredible amounts of energy in each class. Becoming an effective instructor is possible by maintaining a lifestyle that is able to keep you fit and full of energy with good nutrition. When it comes to group fitness, people want to take from an instructor who makes them feel good, creates a fun atmosphere, and gives people a great workout. We've done the aerobic research for you and have compiled 5 essential tips for teaching a successful aerobics class:

1. Commando

As an instructor, it is essential that you are in total command. Knowing all about posture, duration, and rhythm of your aerobics class will make it a fitness class that everyone will want to take. Taking command of your class means you need to invite participants to respond and stay excited. Through safety and movement control, commanding your class to follow your movements and positions will promote uniformity. When you switch from different modes, rhythms, and repetition phases, use a commanding tone to put a little pressure on your class. Though you might not want to treat your entire class as if they are all on the same fitness level, it's still important to try to push their boundaries. Through self-checks and reciprocal elements of your class, your clients can adjust the workout to their comfort levels. When you're in command your class will try to emulate your confidence and fitness levels.

2. Cue It

Cueing are the verbal techniques used in an aerobic class that inform participants of upcoming movements or changes to the workout. Not only does this help people avoid getting hurt from sudden changes, it also ensures timing and motivation to keep your class going. Your class will be full of different types of learners. The visual learner needs to see the specific cues and learns by watching you demonstrate the proper form and exercise. Using big hand gestures and large movements will help this learner. Another type of learner is the kinesthetic learner. This learner needs to feel what the movement is on their own body. You may need to step in and physically adjust an individual to help their form. You don't need to be forceful, but you can use slight adjustments to help your client. The verbal learner simply does better when they hear sound-specific cues and words. It's important to avoid using vague phrases like "Use that arm." or "Turn that way." Be specific and detailed in your verbal cues to avoid confusion.

3. Music Magic

Most fitness music for aerobics class is arranged in 32-count phrases and are in 4/4 time. An aerobic instructor has to be able to stay on top of the beat and right on the phrase. Movements need to start at the top of the phrase or your entire workout can get off. People come to aerobics class because they enjoy working out to music. Get off on your music and you'll have an entire class of fitness gurus who are out of sync as they miss the opportunity to punch in their workouts to music. For resistance training, use sets of eight to sixteen repetitions that will keep you on the musical pace. Every workout will require different beats per minute, but many gyms and sound systems have pitch control that can let you speed up or slow down the music. If you find that your students are struggling to keep up and are losing proper form to stay with the music, then slow it down a touch. Find the perfect speed for your class for an optimal and safe workout. Make sure your clients go through the full range of motion for each workout.

4. Plan Your Aerobics Class

There is no shame in rehearsing your aerobics class routine. Most gyms are on a tight schedule and need your workout to start and end on time, so it's important to have your routine down pat. Consider time-efficiency and how long you want to spend warming up and cooling down your class. Know exactly what exercise should begin where the previous ends. Learn how to combine the workout of multiple muscle groups with movements that work multiple muscles in the same movement. Plan your music and coordinate it with your movements. Know exactly what you want to say for your cues and when you'll need to say them. Leave some room for spontaneity and fun verbal motivators you can shout out when you think your class needs it. Planning a great class will help your clients respect you. Looking unprepared and careless will not make for a great aerobics class, nor will it keep people coming back to your class. A planned, efficient routine will give your clients a great exercise while eliminating moments of downtime for them to overthink how hard the routine is. Kee it up, keep it peppy, and keep it planned.

5. Introductions

Though it's number five on our list, it should be the first thing you do when you start teaching a class. Face your class and share your name and a little bit about yourself. It is important to be personable even when in command. Introduce yourself to new clients. Place your regular clients in the front row in a pseudo-leadership position for the back rows to follow. Ask people about any injuries, and find out if anyone is pregnant. Keep an eye on them in case of emergency. Be friendly, but don't get too chatty- after all, they came to work out.

Be The Best

Be in command, learn your cues, use music to enhance the workout and always have a plan. Go from being a great instructor to being the best at your gym with these essential tips. When you're ready to up the quality of your aerobics class with fantastic music custom made for your routine, click here!